To know whether a beef carcase is top quality or not, you can't go wrong by asking a butcher.
As the people who work directly with the carcases, butchers know what the meat looks like, how it feels when they cut through it, and whether it will meet the expectations of their customers, whether they be the general public, wholesalers, or restauranteurs.
But what exactly do butchers look for when inspecting a speckle park carcase?
Primary Attributes
The colour and texture of the meat, colour and distribution of the fat, and levels of inter and intra-muscular fat are some of the first attributes a butcher will look for when inspecting a carcase or cut of meat.
The yield of meat to bone is also an important attribute, and because speckle park cattle are flat-boned, you get more meat and less bone.
With ideal levels of fat cover, muscle conformity and meat colour, many butchers agree that speckle park carcases are tasty, soft-eating, have good levels of intra-muscular fat, and certainly qualify as top quality meat.
How Important Is It For Butchers To Know Their Supplier And Their Product?
When sourcing meat of a premium quality for discerning customers, developing and maintaining a sound relationship with the farmers who produce the meat is essential for butchers.
They believe that in allowing the consumer to see where the beef has been sourced from, they're giving them that connection with the farmer that modern consumers want. But in order to do this, butchers must be more than familiar with the practices used by the farmer to raise his cattle, so that they can pass them on confidently to those buying the meat.
They should know what the land is like that the cattle are raised on, what their feeding regime is like, what access they have to shelter, and how they are transported from the land to the slaughterhouse.
Consistency Of Quality And Farmer Recognition
Many butchers aren't as concerned about consistency in terms of supply, as they are about consistency in terms of quality. They prefer to wait for a cow to be ready for slaughter, than have the farmer rush the process and produce a poor quality cow, with a poor quality carcase.
They also want the farmer to get the recognition they deserve for having produced such high quality meat, and this, along with a consistently amazing product, remain priorities for many Canadian butchers.
Better Than Other Breeds
Many butchers also state that the speckle park carcases they've worked with are often of a higher quality than other breeds they've worked with, and that the consistency is quite incredible. For butchers, their high yield and feed conversion adds significant value, with some saying that it's the best meat they've ever had the pleasure of working with.
Even marbling is another particular attribute of speckle park carcases, making them a favorite for restauranteurs and their high-end consumers.
Ask Your Local Butcher
If you're looking for a new breed of cattle to satisfy a new generation of beef eaters, going to a speckle park sale and buying the best animals you can afford could well be a fortuitous decision. Just ask your local butcher.